In general, forces such as those caused by wind and water currents will cause an unrestrained boat or other watercraft to drift. However, there are many circumstances in which the user of the watercraft may desire to prevent such drift. For example, a fisherman may wish to keep his boat positioned over a particularly good fishing spot.
The conventional means for maintaining a boat in a particular location is a physical anchor connected by a rope or chain. To restrain the drift with an anchor, one must lower the anchor into the water until the anchor hits the ground beneath the boat. The friction of the anchor against the ground inhibits the watercraft's freedom to drift.
Unfortunately, physical anchors are not always a convenient or practical means for preventing drift. Specifically, the operation of lowering an anchor is relatively slow, and requires the full attention of the person performing the operation. Consequently, the use of a physical anchor is virtually impossible when time is of the essence. For example, when a fisherman who is trolling hooks a fish, he is typically not in a position to turn off a motor and lower and secure an anchor. Further, any attempt to do so could easily result in loss of the fish, or create a dangerous situation if the fisherman does not give the anchor operation his full attention.
Further, the conditions of the ground beneath a boat may prevent effective use of a physical anchor. For example, if the ground beneath a boat is hard and flat, an anchor may simply drag along the bottom as the boat drifts away from its desired position. On the other hand, if there is too much structure on the ground, the anchor and rope may become entangled in the structure.
A further disadvantage of a physical anchor is that a physical anchor can only be used in locations where the water is not deeper than the length of the rope or chain connecting the anchor to the watercraft. Thus, it is often difficult or impossible to maintain a boat positioned over the deepest holes in the bottom of a lake. The ability to maintain a position over such holes is particularly important to many fisherman, since the largest fish often populate such holes.
A further disadvantage of physical anchors is related to lowering and retrieving anchors. For example, a person or item may be pulled overboard if the person or thing becomes entangled in the rope as the anchor is lowered. Further, the rope and anchor are wet and often slimy and muddy when they are retrieved back into the boat.
In light of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide an apparatus for maintaining a boat in a substantially fixed position that is more easily and conveniently operated than a physical anchor. It is further desirable to provide an apparatus for maintaining a boat in a substantially fixed position whose efficacy is not dependent on the physical condition or depth of the water. It is further desirable to provide an apparatus for keeping a boat over a desired position whose operation does not involve the danger or inconvenience of lowering and raising a physical anchor.